Meghan Markle to Join the Queen for Christmas at Sandringham: A Historic Breakthrough

The Buckingham Palace's announcement that Prince Harry's fiancée, Meghan Markle, will be joining the Queen for Christmas at Sandringham and attending the traditional church service is a groundbreaking move that marks a significant change in the royal family's Victorian attitudes towards modern life.

This is a gesture that was not extended to Kate Middleton, Camilla Parker Bowles, or Lady Diana Spencer before they married into the family.

What makes this move even more surprising is the fact that Meghan is being fast-tracked into royal life long before her wedding.

Earlier this week, Meghan had another unusual starring role when she accompanied Harry and the Queen to the royal household Christmas party hosted by the Lord Chamberlain at Windsor Castle.

In a more intimate rerun of her first engagement, at Harry's side in Nottingham earlier this month, Meghan mingled with the domestic staff and gardeners who keep Buckingham Palace and the other royal residences ticking over.

At the party, Meghan wore a burgundy lacy cocktail dress, demurely cut just below the knee, and moved easily through the crowd of well-wishers, accepting congratulations from the men and women who will address her as Your Royal Highness in a few months' time.

The formality was kept to a minimum with handshakes rather than curtsies.

She asked everyone she met their names and what they did, showing a natural ease and confidence that impressed guests.

Meghan and Harry announced their engagement on November 27, travelled to their first public outing on December 1, and will be seen in public with all the senior members of the Royal Family in 11 days' time when they attend the traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the Queen's Estate in Norfolk.

It will be a testing time for Los Angeles-born Meghan, as Christmas at Sandringham is a daunting prospect for an outsider, even one as poised as the 36-year-old Ms Markle.

Meghan's presence at Sandringham this Christmas will be historic.

No unmarried partner has ever been permitted to sit around that polished long table in the Green Wall dining room, hung with Spanish tapestries, for the family lunch.

Even though she too was newly engaged at Christmas 2010, Kate had to wait until the following year after her wedding to receive an invitation.

She is now a veteran of six such Christmases and will be a valued guide for Meghan.

With more than 30 members of the family expected, the numbers are this high only every other year because of guests' commitments to other in-laws.

Meghan's first task will be to try to remember all their names.

She will also need to know who the Queen's favourites are when it comes to the seating plan for lunch.

Usually, it is Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips and the monarch's niece Lady Sarah Chateau who sit either side of the Queen.

But yesterday some staff were speculating whether the Queen might place herself between Harry and Meghan.

Meghan and Harry are expected to billet themselves with William and Kate at Emmer Hall, the Cambridges' country house a short drive away.

The royals follow the German custom of handing out presents on Christmas Eve, and the Queen likes things for picnics or for a barbecue, a rug perhaps.

The candlelit black-tie dinner served at 8:30 pm is typically potted Norfolk shrimps, locally shot game, or a lamb dish followed by tartare and with brandy creme or a souffle, all served on the finest china and silverware.

The next morning, after Prince George and Princess Charlotte open their stockings, Meghan and Harry will be readying themselves for the crowds who will greet them outside church.

If the weather is fine, the younger royals will walk.

Then comes Meghan's most critical moment, Christmas Day lunch.

It's traditional fare of turkey with all the trimmings and is followed by not one but two flaming Christmas puddings.

Guests sit down at 1:15 pm prompt, and it's all over in an hour.

By the time she and Harry leave, Meghan will also have packed in a post-prandial walk and, of course, watch the Queen's Christmas message on television along with everyone else.

Meghan's Hollywood glamour is sure to add some sparkle to this most traditional of gatherings, and her presence marks a historic breakthrough for the royal family.

The breathtaking speed with which she is being absorbed into the royal world, while still not a royal, has amazed even the most up-to-date courtiers.

As Meghan continues to transform the royal family step by elegant step, we can only wait and see what other surprises she has in store.